Baby death triggers sling campaign

Sun-Herald senior writer

A Queensland coroner is investigating whether a baby sling was a factor in the death of an infant, as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission considers introducing a mandatory safety standard for the devices.

After Australia's second baby sling-related death, the Queensland Office of Fair Trading will prepare a new safety awareness campaign.

The Brisbane baby was injured in March and died five days later. A spokesman for the coroner said as yet no cause of death had been determined by a pathologist.

After Australia's second baby sling-related death, the Queensland Office of Fair Trading will prepare a new safety awareness campaign.

"The coroner is investigating the death and will decide what further investigations to undertake once the cause of death is determined," the spokesman said.

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No safety regulations exist for baby slings in Australia. The campaign next year will warn parents of the risks of baby slings.

"The aim of the campaign is to show people who prefer to use baby slings how to use the slings safely to reduce the key risk of suffocation," a spokesman said. "Although the suffocation risk of incorrect use of baby slings is quite small, it can be easily reduced by some simple safe-use techniques by parents."

An ACCC spokeswoman said the consumer watchdog was liaising with the Queensland coroner about the baby's death and would "consider whether further action is appropriate" once the coroner had ruled on the cause of death. The introduction of mandatory safety standards "remains a possibility".

The ACCC is also working with its international counterparts to align safety standards for baby slings, which could result in new consumer warnings. This is expected to be completed next year.

In September 2010, a two-day-old Adelaide boy suffocated to death in a baby sling. The baby was found cold and not breathing after his mother carried him in a sling under her shirt and jumper. That death prompted senior South Australian pathologist Roger Byard to write to the Medical Journal of Australia, warning of the hazards posed by baby slings.

"Infants may be placed in a position where there is excessive flexion of the neck or obstruction of the mouth and nose that may cause suffocation,'' Professor Byard wrote. "The soft and rounded sleeping surfaces may promote a potentially dangerous posture that impedes normal respiration. Constant monitoring of infants in slings is advised to ensure that the infant's head is facing outwards, with no covering of the face."

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